The Sohma Kingdom
by Moon Nugget
Summary: Yuki and Kyo are members of the Sohmas Royal family and they are looking for a girl named Tohru who can break the curse on thier family! But which boy will Tohru choose? The Sohma family is reinvented with a taste for knights and dragons. Please Review!
1. Chapter 1 The Hunt for Her

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket, but I'm pretty sure the author is flirting with the idea of leaving it to me in her will. You never know, right?**

Sohma Kingdom History, Lesson 1-

Once upon a time, in a far off kingdom lived a royal family by the name of Sohma. The royal family was loved by its people as they were able to make the kingdom a prosperous land, rich in resources and culture. The forests were full of animals for hunting and the fields were always ripe for picking. But of course as all fairy-tales have to go, not all was right in the kingdom.

A young witch with incredible power wished to marry one of the young men of the prestigious royal family. She was lead on by him but ultimately he rejected her for another. Soon after, the young witch became enraged and placed one hell of a curse on the entire Sohma Kingdom.

The crops would no longer grow, the woods were filled with horrible monsters, the mountains boiled lava, and the grand Sohma Castle was twisted and warped into an architectural nightmare. But worst of all was what happened to the royal bloodline itself….

**CHAPTER 1-** The Hunt for Her

The room was only really suitable for a dying man waiting for the boatman to ferry him across the river of Styx. The walls were moldy and stained, most of the windows were broken and barely covered by the tattered black drapes. A tall twisting throne was placed in the back center of this foreboding room where a fading king was having yet another tantrum

"I DON'T CARE I WANT HER HERE NOW!" bellowed Akito Sohma, living god of the cursed Sohma Kingdom. He was standing on his throne as he yelled at two of the younger members of his clan. One boy had dark, almost purple hair and a calm personality, he carried with him a Vorpal blade and large shield. The other boy had bright orange hair and a tan complexion, the look on his face read of rage and frustration.

"I'm very sorry sir, but we have no real way of finding her just yet…" Yuki Sohma said, maintaining his respectful nature towards his King, while doing his best to fight the urge to punch him square in the nose. His companion had no such resistance.

"Shut up! You old asshole! You think you can just get whatever you want! Huh?" Kyo Sohma bellowed back as he lunged towards Akito.

In a moment of swift reaction from Yuki, Kyo didn't make the better part of two feet, Yuki had kicked his leg out from under him. "I'm very sorry Akito, the fool and I shall not rest until we find her."

"I would advise you do Yuki, I would advise you do." Akito said, easing back into his throne. "I hate to imagine what would happen to you if you find yourself unable to complete the task of finding just one little girl. Get out of my sight, both of you."

Yuki, despite Kyo's complaints, brought him to his feet and quickly ushered him out of the throne room as fast as his legs would take him. The door slammed shut behind them as Yuki dashed out of the throne room. The two boys were then greeted by a young sandy-haired girl and a tall cleric with hair covering his eye.

"Ugh, Hatori please keep this idiot out of my reach, he almost got us killed by Akito…again." Yuki said as he leaned against the door to catch his breath.

"Well you know what, I'm sick of this! You and I are never going to find this chick, I mean she could be ANYWHERE! And why do you I have to be the ones to find her, I swear Akito is just doing this to piss me off." Kyo raged.

"Stupid cat, you know that's not true. Stop your ramblings, you're giving me a headache." Yuki responded coolly.

Two months ago, Kisa Sohma, the youngest of the directly cursed Sohmas and a gifted seer had a profound vision. She had seen a young girl who could shatter the curse the witch had placed on them so many years ago. Kisa described the girl as being warm, kind and gifted in white magic but that was it. Also in accordance with Kisa's vision only Yuki and Kyo would be able to find this girl. Akito had then seen it fit to go find this warm and kind white mage but insisted that only Kyo and Yuki find her and immediately bring her back to the castle to meet with Akito.

"I'm sorry that I told Akito what I saw Kyo…" Kisa said quietly.

"You damn well should be! Forcing me to-" Kyo was then cut off again by a quick punch in the mouth by Yuki.

"Don't apologize for your gift Kisa, it's one of the many things that makes you so special. Kyo just likes to complain is all." Yuki said as he patted Kisa on the head.

"Yuki, Kyo I think it's best for all of us if you find this girl, and find her quickly." Hatori said as he healed the Yuki-inflicted gash on Kyo's face. "Akito has been on edge ever since hearing about her and it has made my job that much harder. I would appreciate very much if you could find this girl, even if it does turn out to be nothing. It's very important to Akito."

"Yeah I know, he wants to lift the curse so the Kingdom will be restored to it's former glory…" Kyo jerked away from Hatori's healing hands. "C'mon ya damn rat, lets get a move on. Even though I have no idea how we're supposed to even know this girl once we've seen her." Kyo started briskly walking towards the exit of the castle.

"Make sure to keep a look out for dragons you two," Hatori reminded them gravely, "Its that time of the year and I have yet to be convinced you two could handle yourselves in that sort of situation."

"I'm sure we'll be fine Hatori, they should be getting ready for hibernation soon." Yuki said, recalling a lesson from years ago.

"Yes, which means they'll be hungry. Both of you, please exercise caution." And with that Hatori lead Kisa and himself in another direction.

Yuki then followed after Kyo but staying far enough away from him so the two wouldn't be thought to actually be with each other. Yuki had hated the last two months, they had brought him nothing but trouble. He's supposed to be working on projects that will actually help the kingdom! Building the western dam, monster raids in the forest, protecting the borders from Oni invaders, feeding the hungry, but no he was stuck on a wild goose chase with the one person who he truly despised. They had gone to all the northern villages, southern villages, and western villages, meeting hundreds of girls but none that really seemed to ring a bell. 'What if they had met her and not even known it?' No he mustn't think like that, they still had to check the east, if she's not there…well Yuki knew he would have to get re-used to the tall tower.

The pair walked steadily down the worn hallway until they reached the large double doors that still held a memory of the beauty that this kingdom had once known. Kyo pushed the right door open and walked out into the sun while Yuki, not far behind swung open the left door and felt the heat press on his face. Yuki stood there silently, looking towards the east. Kyo noticed Yuki's quiet gaze.

"…do-do you think we're actually gunna find her?" Kyo said, in one of his few attempts at being civil towards Yuki.

"I don't know." Yuki responded.

The two then started walking east through the forest. Due to the curse, the trees had become snarled and frightening, giving off the premise of twisted demons rather than maples and ferns. The two boys walked in silence, knowing that the moment one of them said something, they would fight, but they had an important and they couldn't afford to lose time. So they just walked for miles and miles, helping each other cross rivers in silence, breaking camp in silence, Kyo didn't even say anything when he knew they were 20 miles from a local village, he just pointed and let out some sort of grunt, Yuki understood.

They walked steadily towards the village, hoping that somehow she might actually be there, and hopefully they'd somehow know it was her. They'd luckily not run into any real trouble in the woods, Yuki thought he heard a Black Dragon but it seemed far away, Black Dragons don't usually live this far east, but you never know. He then heard another Draconic scream, it was far off but closer than the last sign. "Cat." Yuki said, breaking their unspoken agreement about not speaking.

"I already know ya damn rat, it's a male, probly only a year old judging from that scream, dumb lizards lost more than likely, but now he's coming for us. We shouldn't have walked this way, we're downwind from it. This is what I get for letting you pick the way, you bastard."

Yuki didn't dignify him with a response, but he was impressed. Kyo had been born with a knack on things of this nature, he could tell all of that from a faint scream? Yuki then unsheathed his Vorpal blade and readied his shield.

"You're wasting your time rat-boy, this lizard's mine!" Kyo declared as another draconic scream was heard, loud and deafening this time. Kyo readied his metal claws and placed them firmly on his hands. "I'm gunna bring back his head and throw it at Hatori, doesn't think I can handle myself against a freaking dragon, tch."

Almost the moment Kyo stopped speaking the Black Dragon reared it's ugly head, it swooped down from the sky and landed directly in front of Kyo and Yuki. It's frame skinny and under-nourished, it hadn't had anything to eat for days and was looking at the boys as if they were a feast. His breath was hot and dripping with a desperate hunger, it jumped at the chance of meal. The dragon swung his massive claw at Kyo, attempting to quickly crush him. Meanwhile Yuki jumped up on top of the dragons back and started wedging off one his massive scales to create a weak spot his Vorpal blade would take full advantage of. Kyo easily avoided the dragon's initial attack and leapt onto the monster's arm and from his arm to his neck.

"Hey moron, that way's gunna take forever, you'll never take down a dragon that way, you gotta be more DIRECT!" and with that Kyo climbed to the top of the dragons head and struck it in the eye. The dragon then reared it's black head back and threw Kyo off like a child would flick a spider. Kyo caught himself in the fall and landed on his feet and immediately began running at full pace towards the beast, 'Not going to be out-done by that pretty boy!' he thought to himself. The dragon, still trying to gain vision back in its eye, let out a fireball which Kyo sideswiped and kept his sprint towards the dragon.

"You're going down you damn over-grown gecko!" Kyo raged. Using his metal claws he then scaled to the face of the dragon. "You're going down this time!" Kyo, using all his energy readied an attack on the beast that would blow his head clean off, but before Kyo could finish off the dragon, it stopped breathing.

The black dragon gave off one more scream but was helpless to the fate it had constructed for itself. Kyo tried to dislodge his left hand from the dragon, but his metal claws were stuck! The dead dragon then collapsed, Kyo along with it, pinned under it's giant head. He looked over to Yuki, who was pulling his Vorpal blade out of the hole he hade made on the back side of the dragon and cleaning it off on one of it's leathery wings.

"Hey rat-boy! Why don't you try fighting it as man, instead of using some crappy thing you learned in class, huh!" Kyo bellowed more angry at himself for not being the one to kill the dragon and now being humiliated for being trapped under it's carcass.

"I killed it didn't I? You should have paid more attention." Yuki replied as he calmly walked over to Kyo and helped lift the dragon head off of him.

"Whatever, let's just keep going." Kyo said, putting his metal claws away. 'A lot of good that extra training had been' he thought to himself.

Yuki went back over towards the dragon and plunged his Vorpal blade into the beast's mouth.

"Hey what the hell are you doing!" Kyo said as Yuki threw something at him. A dragon's tooth!

"I think this will be easier to carry, rather than the whole head, wouldn't you say?" Yuki said with a condescending grin.


	2. Chapter 2 A Cursed Retribution

Sohma Kingdom History, Lesson 2-

Shortly after the curse had been placed upon the unfortunate realm, a nearby kingdom declared war on Sohma. The Oni kingdom, nestled in the far east valleys, sought to expand it's empire and saw the weakened Sohma Kingdom as an obvious target. Some people believe that the war Oni's aggression are just another part of the curse. Political relations have been stressed between Oni and Sohma for generations, Oni would send in troops into Eastern Sohma and annex a chunk of the land, the Sohma Kingdom itself was nearly powerless to stop these attacks and an all-out war between the two countries had not completely broken out until 15 years ago. Ayame, a young powerful wizard had been given permission to strike back against their hostile neighbors and with one powerful spell, burned the entire Oni capital to the ground.

Ayame's attack on the Oni home ground was a first of its kind but forces were now reclaiming the land lost to the Oni. Hundreds of men from both sides have fallen in combat with one another as neither side is willing to give in. The boundaries between the two nations has become blurred as one day Sohma reclaim a village and the next the Oni will take it back. Even more grievous than the loss of soldiers has been the loss of civilians, as thousands of innocents have either been mercilessly slain or taken off into slavery by both nations.

**Chapter 2**- A Cursed Retribution

After their encounter with the Black Dragon, Yuki and Kyo had little trouble making their way towards the closest eastern village. Kyo had fallen out of a tree while attempting to scout their location and hurt his left arm, but that was about it. On the third day since they left Sohma Castle they reached the first village (And what both boys hoped would be their last) on their journey to the east.

The village had a residence of about 800 and several small shops where Yuki and Kyo could restock their supplies if they didn't manage to find the girl here. Everyone lived in small, one-room wooden cottages and got their water from a well in the center of the town. The wheat fields they cared for looked thirsty and haunted, 'barely enough to feed the village' Yuki guessed.

The boys entered the town and saw several young girls tending to laundry, many who looked like they could fit the description Kisa had set out for them. To Kyo, the girls faces seemed strained, and not knowing what to do, he looked away.

"Should we just go over to those girls over there and see if one of them is who we're looking for?" Kyo asked quietly, ashamed that he was unable to look at the famished girls.

"No that would be a waste of time, we are going to speak with the village elder to see if he knows any girls who are talented with white magic. It'll save us time from speaking to EVERY girl in the village." Yuki responded quickly, doing his best from referring to his companion as 'stupid cat'.

Yuki had been to this particular village twice before and knew where the village elder lived. The pair walked steadily through the village until they arrived a particular old and rotted-out cottage near the very center of the town. Yuki knocked gently on the large wooden door and heard a shuffling from inside.

"Hello! Village Elder! It's Yuki Sohma, I wish to speak with you about a girl who may be in your village!" He heard another shuffling inside and the sound of the door locking from inside.

"Go away! You Sohmas are nothing but trouble for me! Go on, git!" yelled an old voice from inside the cottage.

"Please sir, we just want to talk! We mean you no-"

"OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR BEFORE I BREAK IT INTO PIECES YOU STUPID OLD MAN!" Kyo bellowed, readying his fists to attack the door.

Quickly the door was unlocked and thrown open, an old man wearing a simple green peasants shirt and a look of extreme annoyance on his face greeted them. "What the hell do two noble boys want from the girls in my village? Haven't you taken enough from us already?"

Yuki pushed the fuming Kyo aside and spoke to the elder, "I'm sorry about my companion sir, he has quite the flashing temper you see. We just want to get some information from you sir. We won't cause you any trouble."

"I doubt that," the Elder said, walking back inside his house, waving the two boys to follow after him. "Sit down, I'll pour you boys a drink." The elder then poured three glasses of his homemade whiskey and gestured for the boys to have a seat on the table.

"The Living God of Sohma, Akito, has sent us on a quest to retrieve a girl who may be able to break the curse upon this land." Yuki informed to the Elder.

"Nothing will break the curse the royal family had put on this land, especially not just some girl." The Elder said as he finished his drink.

"Sir the Sohma family did not put this curse on the Kingdom, a witch did. As a matter of fact the Sohma royal family itself suffers the most from the curse." Yuki explained to the old man as he would a four year old.

"The royal family suffers the most…ha, that's a good one boy. You really think that your damned family is suffering the most out of all the people in this country? Take a long look out that window and tell me that again." The old made pointed to a dirty window looking out to the street.

Yuki cast his gaze out the window and saw the face of a war-defeated hungry people, the curse had taken away their food and replaced it with turmoil. "You think that being born with a little bit of animal in ya' is so bad? You ever gone to bed hungry kid?" The Elder continued.

Yuki sunk in his seat, "No sir."

"Damn right you haven't, you're just some royal brat. Get out of the town before someone hears that you're here, it's for your own damn good." The Elder poured himself another glass of alcohol.

Kyo then pinched his nose and scoffed down the shitty drink, "Listen you old asshole, I don't want to be here anymore than you want us here! So how about you just answer this question for me, if you answer correctly we'll be out of here before the sun rises tomorrow."

"What's your damn question?" The Elder scoffed.

"Does this village have any girls who are exceptionally talented White Mages?" Yuki asked, regaining his shaken confidence.

The old drank down his third shot, "White Mages? Magic users, huh? Not that I can think of… my wife was pretty good at it but she past away years ago."

"Not one freaking white mage?" Kyo asked, his hands pulling at his hair in frustration.

"Nope, sorry kid. You might want to try Giri village about 15 miles east of here, there might be one there." The Elder seemed pleased that he was able to upset the two. "There's an Inn on the other side of town, you can spend the night there, but I want you both out by tomorrow morning. And don't think that you're getting' to stay free 'cause your royals, old Helen's gotta make a living too ya know."

"Yeah whatever…" Kyo said as he started out the front door. 'Not even one lousy white mage in the entire damn town!' he thought to himself. "C'mon ya damn rat, the sun's already setting and I think the smell of old geezer might get into my clothes." And with that Kyo walked of the Elder's house.

Yuki remained seated in the Elders room for another second and then slowly rose to get up. "Please excuse him again Sir, its been a frustrating journey you see."

"Well it must be hard for a monster to blend in with humanity…" the Elder grumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"That boy, Kyo Sohma, he's the cat, isn't he? That makes him a monster."

"Sir what are you talking about? Kyo isn't a cat." Yuki was bewildered, 'How could the Elder know about the royal family secret!'

"Don't play dumb, I could tell as soon as I set my eyes on him, he's hair's a dead giveaway. You royals think us commoners know nothing about your little 'secret'? Of course we do, it's how this damn curse was started! Damn the first cat!" the Elder was growing angry, almost raging. "It's because of the first cat we all have to live like this! If that royal bastard had just been a man and married that witch none of this would have happened!"

According to popular lore the man that the witch had fallen in love with had been turned into a horrible monstrous cat. The grotesque noble went out of control and rampaged the country side, razing whole villages at a time. The legend also states that the only person who could stop the Cat was another one of the cursed royal Sohmas, the Rat. When the Rat had finally defeated the monstrous cat, the curse continued and sunk it's spirit into newborn child. And so the Cat's evil spirit has been transferred from generation to generation and now rests in the body of Kyo Sohma.

"I need to go." Yuki said as he briskly made his way out of the cabin, leaving the old man to further curse out the Sohmas, especially the Cat. Even among the royal family the Cat had always been treated…differently, as if he still was a hideous monster from the legend.

Kyo watched as Yuki walked out of the cottage and began to march down to 'Old Helen's Inn'. Yuki eventually caught up with him and looked like he had something to say but didn't want to say it, annoying Kyo enough to ask/tantrum, "Argh, what the hell do you want to say?"

Yuki gave a light cough in his hand and said quietly, "I didn't bring any money."

"So what, you want me to spot YOU!"

"Yes."

Kyo's hands were shaking in rage as he pulled two gold coins out of his pocket and thrust them into Yuki's palms. "Here ya go damn it! Now leave me alone!" Kyo then sprinted off to the inn, leaving Yuki at his walking pace.

Yuki grimaced about having to ask Kyo for money but still spent it on room and board for one night in the old eerie inn. Yuki looked around the tavern connected to the inn but decided Kyo must already be in his room, sulking. Helen, the owner of the inn, kept trying to talk to Yuki about how happy she was that someone with 'class' was staying at her inn, but Yuki felt her dialogue felt forced and unnatural and decided that it would probably be best if he retired to his room.

The room was Spartan, one lumpy bed with a single white sheet and a wooden box for him to apparently place his things in. Yuki slipped off his white armor and Vorpal Blade, placing both in the box. He felt like taking a bath but decided against it, he would have to continue his journey with that damn grubby feeling between his toes. Once he crawled into the bed he decided it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as it looked and almost immediately fell asleep.

Less than one mile away a group of men were sharpening their swords and readying their arrows. 'We shall reclaim this village in the name of the great Oni Kingdom!' they would chant and over and over. Once their leader gave the word they would march on the defenseless village, and if they couldn't own it, no one could.


	3. Chapter 3 Monster by Nature

Sohma Kingdom History, Lesson 3-

The curse that the witch placed on the Sohma Kingdom apparently knows no bounds. All members of the royal family are cursed by having their bodies take on certain characteristics that typically appear on the Zodiac animals. For instance, Yagma Sohma Lord of Marbury had whiskers and a tail just like a rat, Talla Sohma Countess of Kanet Fields had Tiger-like claws and stripes all over her body, and Kuni Sohma of Darnet has a boars nose right on her face. Apart from these animalistic qualities there are always 13 members of the family who carry a large part of the curse. These 13 look completely normal but can not embrace a member of the opposite sex without being turned into the spirit of their zodiac animal. The lesser royal family members cater to the whims and needs of the Zodiac Jyūnishi that corresponds to their physical traits. However, the 13th Jyūnishi, the cat, is segregated as no one else in the entire bloodline ever possesses traits from it.

**Chapter 3**- Monster by Nature

"Hey rat-boy, get the hell up!" Kyo exclaimed as he threw open the door to Yuki's room.

Yuki rolled over in his bed and half opened his eyes to look out the window, it wasn't even daylight yet, then fell back asleep.

"Damnit, I'm not messin' around! We've got big problems!" Kyo said as he vigorously shook the sleeping Yuki. "It's the Oni, they somehow managed to get this far into the east and they're attacking the village!" Yuki still wasn't fully awake until Kyo attempted to then punch him in the face, which he block and countered.

"Let me go you moron! I'm gunna go save the village, you can just stay here and sleep like a little baby." Kyo ripped himself from the room and ran towards the door to the inn.

Yuki cast another quick glance out the window and now noticed a faint glow coming from the fields, they had been set ablaze! Yuki went into the box and quickly threw his armor back on and readied his Vorpal Blade. 'This is what I get for not patrolling the country side for Oni these past few weeks…' Yuki thought as he followed Kyo footsteps to outside the Inn.

Kyo was already busy fighting four Oni soldiers at once, Kyo threw his deadly fist in the one of the soldiers' stomachs causing him to topple over. Yuki saw that Kyo had left himself open to an attack from the right and immediately joined the fray, fighting alongside Kyo.

"I don't need your help!" Kyo shouted as he landed another attack in the face of an enemy soldier.

"Where is the village guard?" Yuki yelled as he plunged his Vorpal Blade into the side of his enemy, ignoring Kyo's outburst.

"Where do you think the guard is!" Kyo finished off his opponents and began running towards the Elders house. Yuki looked towards his sprinting relative and realized that the Oni would obviously have gone after the village Elder. Yuki attempted to run after Kyo but a group of Oni soldiers blocked his path. Yuki knew he had no choice but to fight and leave Kyo to protect the Elder.

Kyo made it to the Elder's house, the streets were stained with blood and bodies of Village guards and Oni men piled around the area. Kyo readied his metal fists as he saw the guardsmen pressed nose-to-nose outside the Elder's door. Kyo saw he had the advantage as the Oni Soldiers' backs were completely unguarded. He leapt on to the closest soldiers and cleaned broke his neck. In a series of rapid attacks he felt his extensive training truly pay off as the amount of living Oni Soldiers quickly depleted. The guardsmen saw they're opportunity and continued their struggle with a pumped-up bravado.

"Shit, who is this kid!" One of the Oni yelled as he backed away from the fray. "Retreat! Now!" The soldier yelled and all the Oni who could still walk immediately followed after him.

The Villagers began to cheer as the enemy ran off, "How's the Elder?" Kyo said as he turned back towards the house.

The Guardsmen shuffled away from the front door as the Elder slowly made his way from the house. His face was contorted with rage as looked upon Kyo.

"It's him!" the Elder shouted as he pointed towards Kyo. "He's the monster who brought the Oni on us! It's the curse of the evil Sohma family! He's the CAT!"

The villagers looked confused until the Elder said the word 'cat'. Their faces no longer looked to Kyo as a hero but as a grotesque monster. Some of the villagers turned their makeshift weapons towards him and grave muttering came from the crowd.

Yuki finally arrived at that moment and looked to Kyo, confused about why he thought he saw tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "What's going on here?"

"Him too! He's nothing but a royal brat! We don't need the help from the "Living God's" underlings! Get out of our town immediately!" The Elder raged at the two boys.

Someone then threw a bottle and it shattered on side of Kyo's head, Kyo just stood there. Yuki noticed he was talking to himself under his breath. The villagers laughed at Kyo and began throwing whatever they could find at him, soon twisted scraps of metal and glass were being pelted at the pumpkin-haired boy. Yuki tried to pull Kyo away but found him to be unmovable, his head was looking towards the ground, almost in shame but Yuki looked on his face and saw that it was anything but.

Kyo had a manic look in his eyes, "I'm a monster am I? Monster?" Kyo was saying over and over again. Yuki looked towards Kyo's hands and noticed that his bracelet was slipping off his wrist. "I'll show them a monster."


	4. Chapter 4 The Girl on the Beach

Sohma Kingdom History, Lesson 4-

The Elin River flows from the Northwestern parts of the Kingdom to the far east, almost completely dividing the country in half. The Sohma Capitol is built right in the middle of the rivers length and relies heavily on its strong currents for travel and trade. The Elin floods yearly though, occasionally creating devastation throughout the entire nation. Ever since the curse the already strong currents of the Elin of picked up turned the entire river into little more than out of control rapids.

Those who are brave enough to ride the untamed Elin for all it's worth find themselves transported directly into the Oni country. The river eventually empties out into the Oaltic Ocean, very close to the charred remains of the Oni capital. The Oni use the river just as much as the Sohma Kingdom do, but in Oni the waters are much calmer and easier to use, just another example of what the witches curse has done to everyone in the Sohma Kingdom.

**Chapter 4**- The Girl on the Beach

"No Kyo! Don't!" Yuki said as he tackled his relative to the ground, preventing him from slipping off his sacred bracelet.

A bottle then smashed against the back of Yuki's head, he winced in pain and looked down at the nearly-sobbing boy under him. Yuki had never seen Kyo like this, displaying apparent weakness. Yuki scooped up Kyo and began walking away from the angry mob, burdened by the weight of Kyo and the guilt in his own heart. He too had said these hurtful words about Kyo at different points of his life, but isn't that what he was raised to believe? 'No, it's just easier for you to believe that you're better than him because Akito said so, if Kyo's a monster than you're the devil.' The little voice in the back of his head sprang out to say.

"Get that monster out of here!" The chorus of yells from the crowd continued to echo. A large man of about 23 came up and approached Yuki, he smirked and swung his huge fist at Yuki's face. Yuki couldn't react in time because of his burdened and was forced to take the mans punch full swing.

"YEAAAH! Nice one man!" His friends cheered on with looks of bloodlust stuck to their faces. The attacker advanced on Yuki, beating up one of the Sohma brats and the monster-cat, he'll probably be called a hero for weeks to come.

The initial blow caused Yuki to drop Kyo to the ground and fall to his back, he could feel his face swelling up under his left eye. The man walked over to where Yuki had dropped Kyo and gave him a swift kick in the rips, Yuki thought he heard a crack. The man laughed as he struck again and again at the barely conscious Kyo.

"Stop it!" Yuki cried. "You're hurting him!" Yuki leapt towards the man and grabbed his arm, pulled it back in a awkward looking position and broke it like a twig. The man screamed in pain as he quickly countered at Yuki, who then grabbed his good attacking arm and broke that as well. "Let us leave!" Yuki declared to the crowd, who were now quickly advancing on them as Yuki injured one of their own.

Thing like "He's a monster too!" and "Hang 'em!" could be heard from the angry mob. Yuki saw this was not going to be easy.

"Just go…" Kyo said from the ground. His voice was broken and raspy.

"No, I won't abandon you to these savages!" Yuki bent over and scooped up Kyo. "Let us leave before anyone else is hurt!" Yuki declared, and with this declaration four more men from the crowd stepped out to attack. Yuki threw Kyo to safety and drew his Vorpal Blade, cutting the arm off one of his opponents and decapitating another. The other two attackers backed off and the crowd became fearful. Yuki put his blade back in it's shieth, gathered up Kyo and with his remaining energy he dashed out of the rioting village.

In all the confusing Yuki failed to notice where he was fleeing too. The forest stood right outside the village and the Oni had just gotten back. They saw Yuki running out of the town and carrying the boy who had killed so many of their numbers. The soldiers wanted payback and it would be easy to enact on an unconscious boy and his worn-out protector. They waited until Yuki was within the forest's grasp and sprung on him.

Yuki saw an arrow whiz by his head as he entered the dark forest and felt very sick of fighting. He laid Kyo down, noticing that another arrow had made a long slash across his face, another couple of inches and that would have been the end of Kyo. Yuki realized his mistake of entering the forest and again readied himself against the Oni. The three shooters made their way from behind the trees, all brandishing hatchets over their heads. Yuki threw his blade at one of the attackers and it embedded itself in the soldier's chest.

"He's defenseless now! Get him!" The other Oni yelled as they approached the weaponless boy. Yuki swiftly grabbed one of them by the wrist, immediately shattering it. The hatchet fell to the ground as Yuki twisted his opponent's neck. He grabbed the fallen hatchet and swung upwards, slashing the third mans jaw to ribbons. He cast the hatchet aside and pulled his blade from the body of the soldier. Soon more Oni would be upon them, and he didn't know how long he could defend both himself and Kyo.

Yuki again scooped up Kyo and ran further into the woods. Sweat poured from his temples as he raced deeper into the woods, desperately trying to come up with some sort of plan.

"The Elin…it's just up ahead…I can hear it." Kyo said between coughs, his eyes fluttering wildly.

'Of course! I'll just loose them by the river's shore, we'll just wait them out!' Yuki thought as he adjusted his direction towards the faint sound of rushing water. His heart was pounding and he wondered if it was actually loud enough to give away where they were.

Kyo was hacking up blood now, Yuki knew that if he didn't get help soon, they would be in deep trouble. Yuki finally reached the raging waters of the Elin, its cool mist splashing his face. He laid Kyo down on the muddy beach and inspected his wounds, the kicks to his ribs had left his chest multi-colored and swollen, his breathing was shallow and blood trailed from his lips. Bayroot, a plant that grew nearby would relieve some of the pain, Yuki knew that's all he could really hope to do at this time.

He left Kyo near the river to go quickly look for some bayroot. He ran up a little further east and looked under large clumps of dead leaves for what seemed hours until he had found three fat stalks of green bayroot, he yanked them from the ground and made his way back towards where he had left Kyo, but Kyo was no longer alone.

A whole battalion of soldiers were hovering around Kyo's body, their souls greedy for revenge. Yuki knew he could not take on 20 plus soldiers by himself, it would be suicide, but he had to save Kyo!

"Don't any of you move! I'm Yuki Sohma, step away from that boy!" Yuki yelled heroically as he moved closer to the group.

The soldiers turned their heads from Kyo and stared directly at Yuki, some mutterings were heard saying 'THE Yuki Sohma?' and such. Yuki had gained quite the reputation by now for being an Oni killer. One man, Yuki guessed to be the squad's leader stepped out. He wore long black tradition Oni battle robes and spectacles. His hair was long and billowed around him, he was no older than Yuki.

"I am Kaisuke Honda, heir to the Oni Kingdom throne. If you are truly Yuki Sohma then that means you are the heir to the Sohma Kingdom's throne. It can only be fate that has lead us to meet like this." He said as he approached Yuki with a friendly smile.

"Well Mr. Honda, I believe if could only be fate. Now will you please let my…" Yuki gulped and clenched his fists as he said this, "friend go?"

"Let him go? You want us to let this whelp who killed some of my finest men go? What on Earth do you take me for Mr. Sohma?" Kaisuke then reached for the collar of Kyo's shirt and dragged him up.

"Please, he's very hurt!" Yuki was grasping for his Vorpal Blade, 'perhaps if he killed their leader the rest would scatter?' it was a gamble, but it may be his only option.

"Oh I have no doubt about that." And with that same friendly smile he punched Kyo in the gut.

Yuki was at his end, he drew his Vorpal Blade and began to lunge himself towards Kaisuke. "Let him go!" Yuki bellowed.

Kaisuke smiled and said simply, "Ok." And with that he threw him into the Elin, the raging waters swiftly carried his limp body away.

Yuki stared dumbfounded as Kyo was no longer visible anymore, he prepared to jump in after him but Kaisuke was suddenly in front of him, 'faster than a lightning bolt' Yuki thought. "You should probably go after him, I imagine you'd hate for your friend to drown." Kaisuke's smile grew even wider. "Oh and Mr. Sohma, a little something for you to remember me by." Kaisuke then plunged a dagger into Yuki's side and left it there.

Yuki cried out in pain as Kaisuke twisted the dagger and whispered softly in his ear, "Yuki Sohma, I Kaisuke Honda will be the one to kill you." And pushed him in the Elin.

Yuki woke up slowly as usual, there was a dull throb in his side and his body ached all over. He glanced over to his right and he saw that stupid cat, sleeping with his mouth open and making all sorts of strange sleeping noises. He started to take in his surroundings and saw that he had been dragged to where he was, the Elin was about 4 yards away and sand was in his toes. He could he there sounds of waves crashing to the shore and birds singing in the morning sun. There were beautiful palm trees around him. 'Wait, _beautiful_ palm trees! No tree in Sohma could ever be called beautiful!' he thought to himself and realized where the Elin had taken them, the center of Oni country. He tried to get up and move but found the bandages around his waist prevented him from getting up quickly. Bandages?

"Oh I see you've woken up! That's good, I was so worried." The voice of a young girl said. Yuki turned to looked at her, she climbed down from one of the palm trees and was carrying two large coconuts. He hair was short and brown, done up in two pig tails. Her smile was warm and gentle, and her eyes were breathtaking. She wore a simple top that revealed her shoulders and a blue skirt. Yuki couldn't speak, she had been the one who saved them!

"You washed up early this morning and you both badly hurt! I did my best but I'm not sure if it's enough…I'm pretty good at white magic spells so it really wasn't any trouble." She said as she tried to break open the coconuts.

"Excuse me miss, but what's your name?" Yuki said with his normal polite air.

"My name is Tohru Honda! Now I hope you like coconuts because that's really all that's around." She answered as she vigorously tried to break open the coconuts.

"Let me help." Yuki got up slowly and walked over towards.

"On no! You shouldn't! Mom says it's not good if move too much after being so badly hurt!" She said as she tried make Yuki lay back down.

"No, it's okay, let me try." Yuki easily opened the coconut. He suddenly knew it, this was her! This Tohru Honda! This is who we've been looking for, we actually found her, my god!

Yuki wasn't able to contain his smile as he opened the second coconut. "Thank you!" Tohru exclaimed as he handed them back to her, but then he noticed something odd on her right shoulder, a tattoo.

The Onigiri symbol of the Oni kingdom was right on her naked shoulder. Yuki knew enough about the Oni to know that all citizens of Oni get tattoos of a rice ball to signify their heritage. Tohru Honda, the girl they had been searching for, the girl who healed them, was an enemy.


	5. Chapter 5 Tomes and Chickens

Sohma Kingdom History, Lesson 5-

One particular oddity concerning the curse Sohma family is a cult-like group that worships the 'Rat' of the Zodiac. It began in the early days of the curse when it was then widely believed that the curse would soon end because the Rat, who had defeated the evil Cat would heroically save them. A group of young women began to religiously follow the first Rat and do whatever he bid of them. Some became concubines, slaves, and shadow operatives, all willingly controlled by the Rat. After the first Rat's death the common notion that he would save them obviously ended, yet the 'Order of the Rat' as they had named themselves became even more strengthened in their vision.

Today the Order of the Rat would like to take on their subservient role for the new Rat, Yuki Sohma, and wait on him hand and foot on the Rat but he absolutely refuses their advances. So as of now the Order works from the shadows, snatching every opportunity that can somehow benefit Yuki. They do this because the Order of the Rat still views him as the only way to lift the curse. They are completely devoted to their cause and are the only people in the Sohma Kingdom who are not imprisoned for not worshipping the Living God Akito.

**Chapter 5-** Tomes and Chickens

Tohru lived in a small wooden cottage only one mile from where she had found Kyo and Yuki laying on the beach. When Kyo entered the cottage he took immediate notice of the small portrait of a young woman on the kitchen table. The portrait looked aged yet well taken care of. Kyo felt the women's smile in the picture was very soothing and maybe familiar.

He didn't realize he was staring until Tohru beamed at him and said, "Oh! You've met Mom?"

Kyo looked weakly back at her, "Eh?"

"That's my Mom, isn't that a good picture of her?" Tohru seemed very happy over having someone to talk to as they had slowly walked to her cottage.

Yuki gently lifted the portrait to get a better look at the women, he then gazed around the cottage and noticed two beds. "Oh so you live here with your mother Miss Honda?"

"Well…no…not exactly. You see, Mom's dead. She died about a year ago, at the capital." Tohru's smile faltered for a moment but she regained her composure. "She said she had something really important to do there so she left and never came back, a little while later I heard what happened there…"

Both Yuki and Kyo felt a pit grow in their stomach, the destruction of the Oni capitol, approved by Akito and carried out by Ayame, had killed this girls mother. Yuki knew that this situation would be harder than he had initially suspected.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea. I didn't mean to upset you." Yuki said as he set the picture back down, Kyo's gaze never left the women's smiling face.

"Oh, it's alright, I'm sure Mom would be happy to know that we hadn't forgotten her." Tohru gave the two boys another smile and went over to the stove to make tea.

Kyo made his way towards the table until Yuki quietly pulled him aside, "Have you given any thought as to how we are to handle this situation?"

Kyo shrugged and attempted to push past his relative, "Whatever, you figure it out."

Suddenly Tohru turned around and flatly addressed both of them, "You two aren't from around here, are you?"

Yuki searched for something to say but Kyo responded before he had fully collected his thoughts. "Nope, we're from the west."

Tohru's eyes lit up as Kyo spoke, "Oh wow! Sohma Kingdom?! That's amazing, I've always wanted to take a vacation there, is it true that the entire country looks like a giant haunted house? Oooh that's so cool!"

"Excuse me for asking, but how exactly did you know we weren't from Oni?" Yuki said as he took a seat.

"Oh well that's simple, when I was dressing your wounds I noticed you didn't have the Onigiri mark anywhere on your body." Her face quickly reddened. "Not that I saw you two…I mean you were really hurt and I…I swear I didn't really see anything!"

Yuki gave a slight chuckle, "Don't worry miss Honda, we trust you."

Tohru regained some of her senses and laughed herself, "Thank you, would either of you care for some properly made breakfast? I know coconut isn't always the best thing to go on."

"I'd love some." Yuki said as he began to further inspect his bandages.

"Yeah all right, just nothing to spicy." Kyo said in his typical picky eater tone.

"Ok, I'm just going to go run out to the henhouse for some eggs, you two stay right here, feel free to make yourselves at home!" She then headed out the door, carrying a large basket for eggs.

"Kyo." Yuki quickly darted to his relative. "Have you given any thought as to how we are going to get Miss Honda to go back to Sohma Kingdom with us?"

"It's easy we'll just ask her to go with us and if she doesn't want to we'll make her." The glare in his eye smirked ominously.

"Kyo, we need to put some serious thought into this, what is the best way for us to do this?" Yuki began wracking his brain, wishing he had a more sensible companion.

"Hey rat boy, have you forgotten one major important thing?"

"What's that now?" Yuki's frustration was building.

"We're just about as far into Oni country as you can get! Besides just getting her to go back to Sohma country how will we deal with just getting out of Oni?!"

Kyo was right, Yuki hadn't thought of that.

"We may as well just tell her the truth and see if she buys it, if she doesn't we'll have to do it the hard way."

Despite Kyo's brashness, Yuki knew he was right. "So what, you think we should just waltz up to her and say that we are part of the elite Sohma nobles?"

"You're from the Sohma family?! And you're nobles!?" Tohru exclaimed in shock from the doorway, Yuki cursed himself for not noticing. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry." Tohru immediately went down on her feet and went into a bowing position.

"No Miss Honda it's okay, please stand up." Yuki said as he went to her.

"No you're royalty, I'm being polite!" Tohru shouted into the floor.

"Oh! Get up you dumb girl!" Kyo yelled as he hauled her to her feet. "It's not like we ever asked to be, we just are. And we came all the way into this stupid country just to find you."

"Me?! Why me?" Tohru asked as her face reddened.

Yuki took her hands in his, "We don't know why Miss Honda. We were given a prophecy and it's come true, you're the one we have been searching for."

"Oh my…I don't know what to say. What is it you need me to do?" She asked politely.

"We don't even know yet, we were just told to find you. I know you may feel like you're betraying your country but would you please consider leaving for a short while and going with us back to Sohma, I know our 'King' is very much looking forward to meeting you." Yuki thought that maybe the truth is the best idea after all.

"The KING?! I don't know…I'm not important enough to meet with a king."

"Shut up! God, this is getting annoying. Just come with us back to Sohma, meet Akito, do whatever it is you're supposed to and then just come back here and live happily ever after with your hen house." Kyo was quite irritated by this point and just wanted things over, he ignored Yuki's outrage.

"…ok, I'll go. But who'll take care of my chickens while I'm gone?" Tohru said as a smile began appearing on her face.

"Just put enough food in their house to last a couple of days, I'm sure that's all they'll need Miss Honda."

"Okay."

Just then a fourth voice could be heard outside, followed by a wind, Kyo could smell paper magic residue from outside. "KYO! YUKI! HELLLO! WHERE ARE YOOUU!?" yell the all too familiar voice.

"Crap! What the hell is he doing all the way out here?!" Kyo shouted as he looked around the cottage for somewhere to hide.

Yuki's face gave a disgruntled look towards the noise, he then slowly walked over to the door just as a loud rapping came upon it. Yuki opened the door to reveal a robed man. He wore conservative glasses and his hair was stuck in a state of bed-head. Tohru immediately took notice of the large tome under his arm, reading 'Summer Paradise'.

"Hello my beloved cousins! How in blazes did you ever make it here, smack dab in the middle of Oni country none the less…. Oh well, it is a great relief to see you both again." Said Shigure Sohma as he pushed past Yuki and made himself comfortable at the dinner table.

"Isn't there some sort of rule against using teleportation scrolls so freely?" Yuki asked without any regard towards Shigure's friendliness.

"Of course there is! But there were certain circumstances…excuse me Miss, would you hop to and make me some tea? Teleporting always gives me a taste for it you see. You've been out of contact for days, and then news of Oni attacks on a small inlaid villages began to really worry everyone at the castle, especially Akito. He had been trying to use various communication spells but you never answered, so eventually he ordered me to come and find you. I am the only Script Mage in the country that has enough power to teleport nearly anywhere in the world, even Oni country apparently."

Tohru did as she was told as she and the boys listened to Shigure. Finally Yuki raised his hand to gain the old dogs attention.

"Well as you can see, we are perfectly fine. We ran into some trouble with a group of Oni, I cant remember much but I do know we both were thrown into the Elin and somehow managed to coast all the way down here."

"I found them laying on the beach, they looked so helpless…I just couldn't abandon them." Tohru interjected as she placed Shigure's tea in front of him.

"Then the country of Sohma owes you many thanks! Where would we be without two of our fine princes?" He took a sip of tea and looked back towards Tohru. "My lord! This tea, magnificent! How would you like to come back with us and work as my personal chef of sorts?!" Shigure exclaimed excitedly as he reached for her hands, which were quickly stomped on by Kyo's right foot.

"She's already going with us to Sohma country! She's the one that damn Akito sent us out to look for!" Kyo asserted.

Shigure recomposed himself as he adjusted his glasses for a better look at Tohru. "Ah…I see. Well I'm happy she's cute, an Oni, but cute. I'm not sure how Akito's going to feel about this…. Oh well, that's something to worry about later. All this blue sky and pleasant environment is strangely making me miss home! If everyone could please grab onto my robe as I prepare the spell."

"We're leaving now!?" Yuki steamed as Hatori read the magic scroll from his monstrous tome. Yuki knew he couldn't stop the incantation so he quickly hold of Shigures robe. "Miss Honda, quickly, grab something that you absolutely need! I'm afraid we are leaving rather abruptly!"

"Umm…Ok!" Tohru reached over and grabbed the picture on the table. "I need Mom, without her I don't know what I would do!"

Kyo too then grabbed onto Shigures robe, noticing the Tohru had yet to follow suit, he quickly yelled. "You dumb girl! Grab on or you'll be left behind!" He then reached out to her and grabbed her hand, his heart did a strange sort of bump, at the time he couldn't explain it.

Shortly after Kyo felt an unknown sensation in his soul, did the entire group disappear in a teleportation spell with a quiet, 'blip'.


End file.
